The Chelsea manager Carlo Ancelotti saw his team let slip a commanding lead at the top of the Premiership yesterday, but is happy that they are still at the top of the league, albeit by only one point.
He says that Chelsea must just relax and win their three remaining game, and then no-one can catch them them.
Chelsea may still be on course for the League and FA Cup Double, but their aging squad is definitely in need of some young blood. Although Roman Abramovich has reportedly put a ban on all contract negotiations and Transfer dealings until the season reaches its climax, Chelsea are still the subject of many transfer rumours in the Sunday papers.
The three-way battle for the Premier League title looked to be certain to be heading to Stamford Bridge after both Man Utd and Arsenal both dropped points in the last week, but now Chelsea have also done the same thing against their great local rivals Tottenham.
Man Utd are now just one point behind the leaders, and Arsenal will move back up to within three points if they manage to beat Wigan today.
Man Utd did their usual trick of doing absolutely nothing for the whole of the game, and then sticking on five strikers to attack like hell for the last ten minutes.
Well it paid off yet again, with Paul Scholes popping the ball in the net in the dying seconds of added time, and gave Sir Alex Ferguson the pleasure of putting all the pressure on Chelsea before their match against Tottenham Hotspur.
The Chelsea defender Branislav Ivanovic has been the subject of much speculation lately, and has been linked with a move to Real Madrid and to both the Milan giants in Italy, but his agent says that it is all just paper talk.
Vlado Borozan said: “It’s something that is highly unlikely,”.
“Ivanovic still has two years of contract and has no intention of leaving London.
When Michael Mancienne went on loan to Wolves, he was playing regularly as a defender for the Chelsea reserves and the England U21 side, but Mick McCarthy decided to push him forward in front of the defenders, and he hasn’t regretted it one little bit.
“We knew he wasn’t just a big head-it-and-kick-it centre-half. He went and performed that midfield role he’s currently in, shoring it up for us at Tottenham to start with.” The Wolves manager said.
According to a crazy report in todays Express newspaper, the new rich kids on the block, Man City, are preparing to offer the Chelsea midfielder Joe Cole an amazing £180,000 a week if he moves to the Eastlands on a Bosman transfer at the end of the season.
The report said: Manchester City have offered to make Joe Cole the Premier League’s best-paid player with a four-year contract worth nearly £40 million.
The Man City coach Roberto Mancini believes that he will find it easier to entice big players to the Eastlands next season if his team succeed in their chase for the coveted fourth Champions League spot.
And he wants City to emulate Chelsea by becoming one of the biggest clubs in Europe. “A lot of players could come here next season if we play in the Champions League,” he said. “I think Manchester City can be a very important team in the future.
The Chelsea goalkeeper Petr Cech kept his 100th clean sheet for the Blues in their 1-0 win over Bolton in midweek, and is aware that it won’t be easy to improve on that record against Tottenham tomorrow at White Hart Lane.
Last year Spurs put paid to Guus Hiddink’s chances of winning the title with Chelsea by beating them 1-0, and Cech has not forgotten how bad that day was for the team.
The Wigan defender Mario Melchiot spent five good years at Chelsea before moving up north, and thinks that his new team need to be safe from relegation before going to Stamford Bridge for the last game of the season, as he knows Chelsea will be looking to end the season in style.
